Additional Training Options

Students with interests in clinical child psychology, child psychopathology, and child development are invited to apply to the Joint Program in Clinical and Developmental Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Likewise, students whose primary interests are in normative developmental processes are encouraged to apply to this joint training program if they wish to understand normative processes of change through the study of abnormal development (e.g., psychopathology, neurological disorder, congenital risk), or if they are interested in applying developmental research to the needs of children and families in clinical or community settings. 

The goal of this program is to train students to conduct meaningful and clinically-informed research on issues pertaining to child development and family functioning in clinical or at-risk populations. 

The program includes a thorough grounding in the theories and methods of both clinical and developmental psychology, including practicum and internship requirements, on the assumption that familiarity with clinical issues, clinical methods, and clinical populations is necessary for the conduct of high quality research on a variety of topics with applied or social policy implications. Similarly, work with children and families requires a thorough background in the theories and methods of developmental psychology. 

The program adheres to American Psychological Association (APA) accreditation guidelines for clinical psychology programs, and as part of Pitt’s Clinical Program, is fully accredited. Research and practicum experiences are tailored to emphasize work with children and families. Like all the programs in the Department of Psychology, this joint program relies on an apprenticeship model of research training, with students participating in the ongoing research of a faculty member, usually their advisor, from early in their graduate student career. In terms of clinical training, students complete practicum requirements in the departmental clinic, as well as at other sites connected with the University medical center. In addition, students must complete a one-year, full-time internship at a setting accredited by the APA. 

Students who are admitted to this program have the opportunity to work with both child clinical faculty, developmental faculty, and some affiliated faculty. The advisory committees of students in the joint program are made up of faculty from the two programs. There are numerous opportunities for research on a range of topics that bring together clinical and developmental issues. It should be emphasized that clinical and developmental faculty are involved in collaborative research together and with faculty from other areas of the University such as pediatrics, psychiatric epidemiology, child psychiatry and education.

Students who aspire to conduct clinically-informed research on issues pertaining to behavioral factors in the etiology, treatment, and prevention of disease may apply for admission to both the Clinical and Biological and Health Psychology programs. Such students gain a thorough grounding in the theories and methods of clinical psychology (principles of behavior, psychological assessment, and behavior change), as well as the biobehavioral bases of health (systems physiology and psychophysiology, behavioral epidemiology, pathobiology). 

Because of the additional curriculum involved, it sometimes takes longer for students with dual program membership to complete the doctoral degree. Biological and Health Psychology students who are also members of the Clinical program are enrolled in clinical practica involving both healthy and medical populations in the Psychology Clinic, as well as through other sites associated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. 

The Clinical Psychology Program is fully accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA), and students pursuing training in both the Clinical and Biological and Health programs are encouraged to apply for internship at institutions that provide advanced clinical experience in health psychology or behavioral medicine. 

Students in the Clinical Health joint program fulfill the program requirements of both the Clinical and the Biological and Health Psychology program. It is important to note, however, that some of the required classes overlap, and that some of the requirements of one program can also be used to fulfill requirements of the other. For more information, see the Clinical Psychology Student Handbook and the Biological and Health Psychology Student Handbook.

The Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition (CNBC) is a joint venture of the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University that leverages the strengths of the University of Pittsburgh in basic and clinical neuroscience and those of Carnegie Mellon in cognitive and computational neuroscience.

The CNBC training program brings together several of the strongest programs of each of the two universities to train interdisciplinary scientists interested in understanding how cognitive processes arise from neural mechanisms in the brain. Students combine intensive training in their chosen specialty with broad exposure to other disciplines that touch on neural computation and problems of higher brain function.

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Students can formalize cross-training that combines any two of our core programs. Students who pursue Clinical-Developmental or Clinical-Health cross-training follow the procedures associated with these established joint programs. Students who pursue other forms of cross-training (e.g., Cognitive-Development, Social-Health) obtain approval through an individualized approval process.

As the first step, an interested student must be admitted into a departmental core program. For cross-training involving the Clinical Program the student must enter graduate training with admission into the Clinical program.

Next, the student obtains approval from each relevant Program Chair and their primary research mentor. As part of the approval process, the student develops a cross-training plan that (a) describes the rationale for cross-training, (b) outlines the coursework that will satisfy the requirements of both programs, and (c) details the student's plans for cross-cutting research experiences and coursework.

Students can seek approval for cross-training prior to accepting an offer of admission or after commencement of training.

The Psychology Teaching Program offers an Advanced Achievement in the Teaching of Psychology for graduate students wishing to receive additional training and mentorship in teaching. 

This program provides:

•  Additional training in best practices of undergraduate teaching in Psychology. 
• Mentoring through evaluation and feedback from faculty mentors, peers, and the University 
• Center for Teaching and Learning (UCTL). 
• Opportunities to develop innovations in undergraduate teaching and disseminate these approaches to the community.

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Basic Information

• The Psychology Department offers a minor in Quantitative Methodology for graduate students wishing to receive additional training in advanced quantitative methods.
• The Quantitative Minor Committee is comprised of Drs. Scott Fraundorf, Marquis Hawkins, Rebecca Reed (chair), and Colin Vize
• See the requirements for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who can enroll in the minor? Graduate students in psychology.
• Can students pursuing a double specialization (e.g., clinical-health, developmental-clinical) or the CNBC certificate pursue the minor? Yes. In theory. However, admission into the minor track requires approval from one’s major advisor. Not everyone can be a specialist in everything, and we encourage thoughtful consideration of the demands and opportunity costs of each credential with one’s advisor.
• How many credits does it require? At least 16 (6 for intro stats sequence in dept, 9 for additional 3 courses, 1 for CAMeL)
• What else does it require beyond course work? Two things. 1. Participating in the Community for Advanced Methodological Learning (CAMeL) for one semester, which includes attending the presentations and giving one presentation. 2. One student led project, either milestone or otherwise, must include an advanced quantitative method presented with sufficient clarity and thoroughness that it would pass in a publication.
• Is there a specific set of advanced courses that are required for the minor? No. The goal is to let students tailor the curriculum to their specialty’s needs.
• Must the advanced courses be taught in psychology? No. Any course that provides training in advanced quantitative methods could potentially count, regardless of the department, school, or university that is offering it.
• Can workshops count instead of an official course? No. Workshops, although useful and necessary at times, do not offer the same depth and breadth of instruction as a full graduate course.
• Must someone from the Quantitative Minor review committee sit on my milestone committee or be a co-author of my independent project? No. They can independently evaluate a project for consistency with the advanced technique criterion.
• What counts as an “advanced technique” for the independent project? Any number of techniques would count. As a general heuristic, anything that extends beyond the basic general linear model that you learn about in your intro stats sequence would be game. The criterion is not how complicated, difficult, or esoteric the technique is, but rather thoughtful selection and implementation of a technique that is appropriate to the theory being tested and the available data.